Ukraine tells Russia to call off elections in LPR and DPR

Ukraine has demanded that the Kremlin immediately call off the preparations for the so-called elections in the Donbas, Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairwoman Iryna Herashchenko wrote on Facebook.

A session of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) was held on October 17, at which Ukraine was represented by presidential adviser Ruslan Demchenko.

“Today the Ukrainian party firmly demanded that Russia and the Kremlin’s puppets immediately call off the preparations for the fake, worthless "elections" in the occupied Donbas,” Herashchenko reports.

Ukraine asked Martin Sajdik, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, to prepare a special statement from the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office which clearly points out the illegitimacy of any elections in the occupied territories.

“The OSCE must clearly state that elections in Donetsk and Luhansk can only be held in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, according to OSCE standards, and with the supervision of independent observers. The fake “elections” that the Kremlin plans to hold in the Russia-occupied territories on November 11 do not correspond to the letter or the spirit of the Minsk agreements, and are intended to destabilize the situation and break off peaceful negotiations,” she adds.

Herashchenko clarified that the demand to call off the pseudo-elections was voiced not only at the TCG, but also in all other work groups.

Earlier Herashchenko noted that President Petro Poroshenko would be appointing a new Ukrainian representative for the TCG, to replace Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s second-ever president, who has now left this position.